Harrington had to scramble for Senate race

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of four profiles of the candidates running for the 4th state Senate District seat: Mickey Harrington, Dan Levine, Jim Nielsen and Jann Reed. Their 30-minute interviews with this newspaper's editorial board can be heard online at ChicoER.com.

Mickey Harrington is no newcomer to statewide elections. He's run for the Assembly three times. But he had to scramble to get his hat in the ring to run for the 4th District state Senate seat that was vacated by Doug LaMalfa.

Harrington said he had just six days to become a candidate, after LaMalfa announced he was giving up his two final two years in the Senate to run for the congressional seat of retiring Wally Herger.

Harrington said he had planned to run for the Senate seat, but hadn't expected the race until 2013, so he had to scramble to get his paperwork to Sacramento.

"(Jim) Nielsen's signs were up before the open date," Harrington said. "It was kind of a fix."

Harrington said he is in favor of Proposition 37, which requires labels for genetically modified foods in California, and he accused his opponent Jim Nielsen of "drawing money from Monsanto" (a company that works in genetically modified crops).

He supports Proposition 30, the governor's tax increase, and opposes Proposition 32, which prohibits unions from using payroll deducted funds for political purposes.

When asked about the state's budget, Harrington said there are many people working "underground jobs" that could bring in billions of dollars if taxed.

Harrington said he was a strong supporter of the (defeated) Proposition 19. "I never smoked marijuana, but it needs to be legalized ... so we don't have police and sheriff departments chasing down" people, he said. Just like with alcohol prohibition, "gangsters have moved in," he said.

On business regulations, Harrington said regulations occur because someone "is doing something really wrong." It's too bad, but "a lot of people have no ethics."

Currently, pension reform is a hot topic. Harrington said the majority of people with public pensions work for less than $20 an hour, and take less knowing a pension is included.

Having a 401(k) investment option isn't the same because a person can lose half their money overnight, he said.

When asked how Republicans and Democrats could work together, Harrington said he is a "professional negotiator." In bargaining, "you ask for something and explain why you need it," he said. And then you figure out the things you can live with and live without, he said.